Shoe and cushioning member or middle sole therefor



Oct. 29, 1929. E. H. HEss 1,733,733

SHOE AND CUSHIONING MEMBER OR MIDDLE SOLE THEREFOR Filed Nov. 2o. 1928 Fg. y 2

g iATTORNEY 'Patented Oct. 29, 1929 UNITED STATES PATENT GFFICE EDGAR H. HESS, F .ENDICOT'L NEW YORK Application led November 20, 1928. Serial No. 320,684.

inner and outer soles of the shoes which member will be flexible, uniformly yieldable, and

will uniformly support the inner soles at all points.

The present invention is particularly designed for use in connection with boots and shoes of the so-called Goodyear welt type in which the upper is secured to the sole by a welt, and a chamber'or space would be left between the inner and outer sole and the welt; and the specific object of the present inventionis to provideh cushioning member which magy7 be of any desired thickness and will uniformly yieldingly fill the Isaid chamber or space andfmay be readily applied to the shoe in the making thereof and be secured thereto the same means which attaches the welt to the outer sole.

A further objectof the invention is to enable the cushioning member to be made of any desiredethickness to increase the cushioning effect, to any desired extent as compared with other shoes in which the so-called cushions are merely space or bottom fillers.

The invention includes both-the novel construction or formation of the cushioning member and also the' shoe or boot sole embodying such novel cushioning members.

In the accompanying drawings I have illustrated the at present preferred form of the cushioning member, and part of a welt shoe of which suchl cushioning member forms a part, and I will explain the invention with reference to said drawings to enable others to fully understand and use the same.

In the claims the novel constructions and novel combinations of .parts for which pro-- 4 isa detail sectional view showing how the thickness of the cushioning member of the shoe, such' as shown in Fig. 2 can be increased without.altering the inner sole, the welt vor the outer sole of such shoe.

The shoe may be of any suitable make but I prefer so-called Goodyear welt shoes. Customarily such shoes have an upper U to the edge of which is attached the welt W and have an outsole O and an inner sole I. The welt W is ordinarily first attached tothe linner sole I by stitches 8,' and the welt and outer sole are then united by one or more rows of stitches S of thread or wire. Sometimes the inner and outer soles are connected by pegs instead of stitches, but the particular `means (pegs or stitches) for securing the upper and welt together and for securing the welts and sole together are not features of the present invention, and may lbe such as preferred by the` shoe maker. The outsole O may consist of one or more layers of leather or other suitable material, as may be desired.

In building such a shoe a space or chamber Cis formed between the inner sole I and the outsole O.) the thickness or height of such chamber ordinarily corresponding with the thickness of the welt W. Such chamber has heretofore been filled in various ways; sometimes with felt, sometimes with rubber or with leather or composition, and various kinds of cushioning material have been used to ll this space in order to more or less yieldingly support the' inner sole I. My invention provides a successful cushioning member whereby the inner sole is uniformly yieldably supported at all points; and which cushioning member can be secured in position by the means which unite the'welt and the outsole. Such a. cushioning member is shown detached in Figs. 1 and 2 and in section in Figs. 3 and 4.

This cushion member comprises a thin and flexible top portion 1 which corresponds in contour to the plan contour of the chamber or space C under the insole I and surrounded by the welt W. This top ortion is connected at its margins by thin exible portions l with a marginal flange 1' of considerable thickness, and which flange corresponds in plan contour with the plan contour of the surface of the top portion 1 a distance corresponding to the thickness of the welt W plus the thickness of the liange l".

Depending from theunder surface of the top portion 1 of the cushion member are a series of inverted pyramidal shaped protuberances 1 the bases of which practical- Y ly abut where they spring from the lower surface of the top portion 1, and these protuberances diminish in cross-section as they depend away from the top portion 1, and the apexes, or lower ends, of these protuberances are in the same plane as the 'lower surface of 1jaar/es neat joints. When the cushion' is used the shoe apparently has a double outsolel when f linished.

It will be observed that the protuberances 1 are arranged practically in parallel series and support the inner sole atall points equally and uniformly. The tapering of these members allows for expansion or distortion the chamber or space between the inner ands outer soles are notpdeep enough to enable a thick member to be employed, but by the use of the iiange 1b of the chamber or space between the inneas described the depth the flange 1 andjthe lower ends of these/21nd outer sole can be decreased or increased `protuberances directly contact with the u per surface of the outsole O, when the parts are properly assembled and united, as shown in Fig. 3. 'f

' .The cushion member as a whole, including the top portion 1, the protuberances 1c and the flange 1b as above described, is preferably formed or molded integrally of rubber,

or suitable resilient yielding composition or -materiaL When made of rubber the ange 1" is preferably vulcanized or more solid than v the cushion proper, to enable a smooth finish to be made the sole.

The outsole may 'be of leather, rubber or any material used for that purpose. The` `welt, outsole and flange of the cushion are preferably first cemented to hold them in place while they are being assembled, then they are preferably secured together by what is known as Goodyear stitching. In assembling the parts after the welt is stitched to the upper the cushioning member is placed in position between -the welt and the ange 1b interposed between the welt and the outsole 0 and then the welt, flange 1h and outsole areyunited by stitching or pegging or in the usual manner; the liange 1h forming a part of the edge of the sole. The stitches S go through the welt, flange and outsole.

The insole I is made of flexible leather or other materials used for making insoles. The protuberances 1 are so close together that their bases practically abut andA together form a solid platform so that the insole will not buckle up or wrinkle and form ridges. e ange ofthe cushion is made wide enough to extend to the outeredge ofthe welt Also the ends of the flange and the outsole.

' to the shank of the shoe as are beveled next at 1" to ferm inclines` to stitch over and make Y desired thickness of on its edge at the outer edge of.

as desired to any desirable thickness.

The flange l" around theA outer end'of the cushioning portion proper enables me to make the cushioning thickness of the ange in accordance with the the cushion proper.

In the ordinary shoe cushion members can only be made as thick as the depth between the inner and outer sole and this depth is entirely dependent upon the thickness of the welt, and the upper; but by increasing the thickness of flange 1b I can correspondingly increase the -thickness of the cushioning member proper.

Figures/i indicates how the cushioning portion illustrated in Figs. 1,2 and 3 can be made much thicker by simply increasing the thickness of the Bange 1". This simple means portion (1, 1) of any' desired thickness by simply varying the of increasing the thickness of the cushion great value in inmember is obviously of effect. A thicker creasing the cushioning flange deepens the chamber() in the shoe and makes the protuberances 1 longer, giving a much` thicker and consequently more resilient cushion member than hasheretofore been possible. i

I claim: 1. A cushioning mem'br for shoes having inner and outer soles; comprising a thin top..

portion adapted to contact with the inner sole and having a multiplicity of closely adjacent inverted-pyramidal protuberances of substantially uniform height depending from the underside of said top kportion and integral therewith, the upper larger ends of said 'protuberances substantially abutting, and the smaller contracted ends of the protuberances adapted to contact with the uppersurface of the outer sole.v

2. For av shoe lhaving inner and outer soles and a welt, a cushioning member comprising a top portion having protuberances on its under side and a marginal flange in a plane below the plane of the top portion, the top surface of the top portion being adapted to contact with the under surface of the inner sole, and the lower ends of the rotuberances being adapted to contact with t e upper surface of the outer sole; and the flange being adapted to be confined between the welt and outer sole.

3. "A shoe having inner and outer soles andl a welt, a cushioning member comprising a top portion having protuberancesvon its under side, and a marginal flange, the upper surface of the top portion contacting with the under surface of the inner sole, each of said protuberances being solid and in the form of a truncated pyramid, the lowerends of the protuberances being in the plane of the lower surface of the said flange and contacting with the upper surface of the outer sole;

and said flange being attached to and between with the upper surface of the outer sole.

5. In a shoe the combination -of an up r, an insole, an outsole and a welt connecte to the upper and outsole and defining a chamber between the insole and the outsole; with a cushioning element comprising a top member snugly fitting within said chamber and having protuberances on its under side, and a marginal. flange, the top member contacting with the under surface of the inner sole; eac

of said protuberances being solid and in the l form of a truncated pyramid; the lower .ends of the protuberances bein in the plane of the lower surface of the said flange and contacting with the upper surface of theouter sole, said flange being secured to and between the welt and outsole.

6. In a welt shoe the combination of an upper, an insole, an outsole and a welt connected to the upper and defining a chamber between the insole and the outsole; with a cushioning elementcomprising a top member snuglyeiitting within said chamber having protu rances on its under side, and amarginal flange on a plane below the lane of the upper surface of the top mem r; the u per surface of the top member contacting with the under surface of the inner sole, eac

of said protuberances being solid and in the inverted yramidal pro-4 form of a truncated pyramid and the lower ends of the prot-uberances being in the plane of the lower surface of the said flange, and contacting with the upper surface of the outer sole; said ange'being secured to and between the welt and outsole.

EDGAR H. HESS. 

